Raggeds Wilderness Area

No more descriptive name exists in Colorado than the Ragged Mountains. Prominent from Highway 133 over McClure Pass, the polished rock flanks of the Raggeds soar to a jagged, knife-edged ridge. Complementing these inaccessible peaks, the Dark Canyon of Anthracite Creek roars below, carving a deep and mysterious gorge through surrounding benchlands of aspen and spruce. Colorful peaks and prominent intrusive dikes of the Ruby Range angle north through the area's eastern end, perpendicular to the Raggeds. Capping the diversity of landforms in this area, the Oh-Be-Joyful Valley, one of Colorado's loveliest glacial valleys, sweeps out from the range toward Crested Butte and the Slate River.

The aspen forests north of Kebler Pass form one of the Raggeds' most memorable scenes. In fall, aspen groves on the benches above Anthracite Creek create a patchwork quilt of gold and green as aspen trees change color en masse, until only the last stragglers cling to the green of summer.

Spearheaded by the town of Crested Butte, which depends on the valley's watershed, an outpouring of citizen support to protect Oh-Be-Joyful led Congress to add it to the Raggeds Wilderness in 1993. Few areas have overcome such overwhelming odds to be designated wilderness as did the Oh-Be-Joyful Valley.

About 50 miles of traillead into the area. The hiking rates as relatively strenuous, and large portions off the trail are seldom explored. You'll have to ford the Slate River to access the seven miles of the Oh-Be-Joyful Pass Trail, a difficult task during spring runoff.